


The Boy in the Rain

by RedXD



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Angst, Grian needs a hug, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Crush, Minor Character Death, Mumbo and Grian being soft, Rain, graves, so does Mumbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24268465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedXD/pseuds/RedXD
Summary: Everytime it rains, Mumbo see’s the same short boy walking in the rain.
Relationships: Oliver Brotherhood & Charles | Grian, Oliver Brotherhood/Charles | Grian
Comments: 10
Kudos: 218





	The Boy in the Rain

Mumbo sighs, dreading the next ‘business party’ he’s going to be dragged to by his parents on the weekend. He chooses to stare out his bedroom window, with its tall view of the street beyond the front gate. 

Rain drenches the streets and road. There’s no one in sight. 

He rests his head on his palms, leaning against the wall as he stares at the intense water piling in each small dip and crack. 

That is until there’s something new to look at. 

A small boy in red walks down the street. He doesn’t have an umbrella. He has something in his hands, but Mumbo can’t tell what it is from this far. His eyes follow the boy as he walks down the road. 

_ I wonder why he didn’t bring an umbrella. Seems unwise. _

Not giving the stranger more thought, he continues watching the rain. 

His thoughts instead wander back to his parents.

_ They always tell me what to do and how to act. _

Mumbo scrunches his face up, remembering how a half an hour ago he was stuck with his mother informing him of the weekend’s plans. 

He had hoped to spend his weekend doing something fun, like creating something. But nope. 

Business parties take priority in this household.

After a few minutes of staring, he notices the boy without the umbrella. He doesn’t seem to be holding whatever he had been holding before, now simply walking. 

_ What an odd guy. _

—

Mumbo sits in the garden, book in hand. 

He isn’t really paying attention to the pages. His brain is too busy thinking of it’s own world creations and freedom. 

It’s a possibility he wishes could come. It’s been so long since he feels as if he’s made his own decision. 

What a messed up life. 

His fingers grip the pages of the book, eyes looking over the mess of words. He shuts the book, frowning. 

_ I don’t even like Shakespeare. _

Water. 

A small drop of water lands on his shoulder.

He glances at the sky.

_ Was it supposed to rain today? I can’t say I checked. _

Mumbo sits up, shoving the book under his arm as he hurriedly retreats to his room. Once he reaches his destination, he sets the book down and looks out the window.

Rain pounds against the window, already heavy.

_ Good thing I came inside when I did. _

He’s about to look away, when he notices a boy. A familiar one. The red boy without the umbrella from about a week ago yet again walks down the sidewalk without an umbrella and carrying something against his chest.

The boy walks slowly. 

_ No umbrella again? Wouldn’t he have learned his lesson from last time? _

Mumbo hums, watching as the boy walks until he disappears past his viewpoint. 

_ What an odd guy. _

—

Again.

Again.

And Again.

It’s rained exactly 7 times in the past month. Each time, Mumbo has seen the boy. There’s about a fifteen to twenty minute travel between when he walks to the left before he comes back empty-handed to the right. 

Mumbo can’t help but be curious. The boy’s never brought an umbrella. And he’s always carrying something. 

It strikes Mumbo all sorts of weird. 

So when yet again, it starts to downpour, he decides to finally stop just  _ watching _ .

He stands up from his bed at the sound of rain. His paces are quick as he darts down the stairs. His mother is busy with a friend and his father is in his office. Alone. 

Once he reaches the entryway, he grasps the handles to the front closet. Pulling open the smooth wooden doors, his eyes search the closet for umbrellas. It only takes a few seconds before he finds them. He grabs two with his left hand, before shutting the closet doors and slipping on his shoes. He pulls a jacket over his shoulders. 

Mumbo leaves his house and walks speedily out the front gate. The sidewalk and street is deserted. He opens one of the umbrellas, holding it above his head. His eyes scan the area before spotting the red boy slightly up ahead to his left. 

He spins on his heel, running towards the boy. 

“WAIT!”

The red boy stops.

Stopping to catch his breath, he inhales sharply, “Hi, uh, here-”

He holds out the closed second umbrella. 

The red boy turns around and Mumbo feels himself nearly choke.

The boy is just as short and small as Mumbo expected, but as an entirety he’s much  _ more _ than he expected. Sandy blonde hair, crystal blue doe eyes, and ivory skin. He wears a red sweater with dark jeans. Against his chest, he holds a small pot with a red poppy inside. 

“An umbrella?”

Mumbo nods with a smile, “I uh, live in one of the houses in this street and I keep seeing you without an umbrella in the rain and well I just thought-”

A giggle startles him.

_ It’s so light and cute. _

However he gets much more distracted suddenly by the fact that this stranger is  _ laughing at him. _ Warm heat spills over his face.

The short boy covers his mouth with one of his hands, “S-Sorry, you just- You’re giving an umbrella to me even though you don’t know me? What a spoon!”

_ Did this  _ _ cute  _ _ boy just call me a spoon? _

“I- What?”

He calms down and places his hand back to where it was, holding the pot tightly, “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t have a third hand and I should be using two hands to carry this bad boy so sorry to drag you all the way out here.”

Mumbo blurts, “I could carry it for you.”

The other’s eyes widen. He blinks before smiling, “I wouldn’t want to drag you away from whatever you were doing.”

Growing red, he runs his free hand through his hair, “Well I wasn’t really doing anything, and well, I mean, you could get sick if you keep walking without an umbrella.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

With a moment longer to ponder, the boy shrugs, “Okay then, I guess you’ll be coming along with. What’s your name, fair gentleman?”

Mumbo didn’t think it was possible for his face to get warmer, “Oh I- My name is Mumbo Jumbo, er Mumbo.”

The short boy snickers, “Good to know I’m not the only one with a strange name! I’m Grian.”

—

Their conversations pause when Grian goes silent. He stops walking and steps out from under the umbrella, “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Mumbo glances around and sees the edge of the forest. 

“You’re going in the forest?”

Grian nods, “I’ll be back in five minutes tops, you’ll let me walk you home, won’t you?” He smiles hopefully.

Heat slaps his face yet again, “S-Sure.”

The short boy disappears. 

Just like he said, after about four minutes, he returns. 

This time, the poppy is gone.

_ I wonder what he was doing. _

They talk back and forth until Mumbo stops in front of his house. 

“Would you like me to walk you home?”

Grian shakes his head, “No I’ll be okay on my own, but thanks.”

Mumbo hands him the umbrella, “Okay, but at least take this.”

The other smiles, “Thank you. Won’t you want it back though?”

He swallows down his anxiety, grinning, “I guess I’ll have to walk with you when it rains again then.”

Grian’s eyes widen and he snorts, “I suppose so. Goodbye Mumbo.”

They wave goodbye.

—

It’s been a month since Mumbo first met Grian properly. Every time it rained, which was often since it’s rain season, he’d accompany Grian to the entrance to the forest and wait for him to finish his mystery business. Then they’d walk back to Mumbo’s house and Grian would walk himself the rest of the way home.

Mumbo has begun to treasure every time he’d walk with Grian. He’s never had a proper friend before. So he’s found himself hoping for it to rain everyday.

The best part is that his parents always stay inside when it rains, hating to get wet. 

So he’s never had to miss out on his walk with Grian.

Until now.

His father lectures him on what he has to do better before he becomes the head at his company in his place.

Mumbo pays him no mind, knowing full well once he’s eighteen that he’ll be leaving his family behind. 

His mind danced around in a mess of different thoughts until his ears detected rain drops.

_ It’s starting to rain! _

He smiles to himself, until he realizes he’s still stuck with his father. As the rain continues on, he becomes more and more anxious and impatient. 

It’s likely that Grian has already passed his house at this point. 

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His father’s voice becomes a drilling machine in his ears as he grows more and more impatient.

He doesn’t want to miss at least a bit of time with the shorter boy. 

After a good twenty minutes of raining, his father leaves him be. He barely remembers to grab an umbrella on his way out. 

Sprinting down the sidewalk, his feet strike each puddle with a loud splash.

Mumbo reaches the edge of the forest.

_ Should I go inside? I should check… I mean… What could he be doing that he wouldn’t want me to see? We’re friends right?  _

He furrows his brows, frowning. He doesn’t want to intrude, but he needs to check if Grian is still in the forest. 

With one final sigh, he trudges into the forest.

The path is muddy and leaves encroach on his personal space with every step. After about a minute of walking, he stops.

Grian’s voice. He hears it.

Mumbo tiptoes closer, peeking around a tree.

Grian sits in front of a rock statue. The statue is a long rectangle with a small face etched onto the top. 

Tens of red poppies lie buried in the soil in front of the little statue. There’s gotta be at least 70 poppies tightly compacted into the small clearing floor.

The shorter boy’s head is lowered, and he hugs himself.

“It’s been a year. Should I have moved on? Taurtis… Is it bad for me to still be coming here everyday? Mum and Dad don’t like me coming here. They’ve started to act like they did when we hung out with Sam. Maybe he rubbed off on me. I myself has become obsessive. I just… miss you.”

_ Taurtis? Sam? What… I feel like I’m not supposed to be seeing this. _

Grian sighs and gets up, “I should probably leave you be. I wonder if Mumbo is just busy today.”

Realizing that Grian is starting to walk this way, Mumbo turns on his heel and begins to walk as fast and as quietly as he can. 

He manages to reach the outskirt of the forest before Grian does. 

When the shorter male approaches, his eyes widen, “Mumbo!”

Said male smiles, “Hey, sorry, I got caught up with my Dad and-”

Grian rushes forward and grasps him into a tight hug.

The hug is desperate and wet and warm and Mumbo finds himself blushing like an absolute wreck as he returns the hug.

_ It’s been forever since someone has hugged me. _

The other’s head is shoved against Mumbo’s chest, not being able to reach higher.

Time passes by, but neither of them lets go. 

Silence.

It’s not until Mumbo feels his shirt become sticky and wet against his chest that he glances down and notices the quiet sniffles from the smaller boy.

“Grian?”

Said male lets go of him, the pleasant warmth leaving, and scrubs at his eyes. 

“Sorry, I just… It’s been a rough day, I guess.”

Mumbo moves the umbrella slightly as to make sure Grian doesn’t get rained on. “It’s okay, everyone needs a good cry sometimes.”

A small laugh emerges from Grian, “That’s true.”

—

It’s been two and a half months since Mumbo met Grian. 

He feels as if he’s truly acquired a best friend. 

Grian still hasn’t told him about the statue in the forest, but he doesn’t mind. He’ll tell him when he’s ready. 

And apparently, that day is today. 

They had been walking towards the forest entrance as per usual, however when they arrived, Grian froze himself. 

Silence. 

Rain pounds onto the leafy forest plants. 

“Grian?”

The other takes a deep breath and grabs Mumbo’s wrist, pulling him behind him. 

Neither of them say anything as they approach the weird statue. 

There’s even more flowers than last time, and the statue has a pair of headphones leaning against the side. Since before he’d been from far away, he never even noticed them. Red and blue check print decorates the headphones.

Grian sits down like last time, and motions for Mumbo to do the same.

“Grian…?”

Said male takes a deep breath before whispering, “This is my best friend’s grave.”

_ Oh god… Oh my god. _

Suddenly everything that was said a month and a half ago floods back and he curses past Mumbo for being so blind as to not realize.

“I’m so so-”

“It’s okay.” Grian delicately rubs his thumb against a poppy. “He died over a year ago. Drowned in the lake they say. I don’t know why or what, but he’s dead and ever since he died I come here everyday to plant another flower.”

Mumbo listens quietly, watching as tears roll down Grian’s cheek.

“I used to be friends with more people, but after a while it was just me and Taurtis. Now that he’s gone, you’re my first actual friend I’ve had in a really long time.”

The shorter male hugs his knees, crying in the silence. 

Swallowing slowly, Mumbo moves closer and hugs Grian from behind. He lowers his head down to Grian’s ear. 

“You’re my first friend in a really long time too.”


End file.
